Best Media Players with Ultra HD 4K Support

The compact Android TV Box X96 X4 allows you to enjoy the delights of Smart TV on the screen of any “non-smart” TV. In addition, the model looks very attractive thanks to the stylish RGB backlighting of the case elements.

The TV box is based on the Android TV 11 operating system. In its basic configuration, the device has 4 GB of RAM and a 16 GB internal storage device, which will serve to store installed applications and a local media library. For a stable, fast connection to the Internet, the model has a gigabit LAN port and a Wi-Fi 5 wireless adapter. However, in intensive operation mode, the media player may heat up, which may result in interruptions of the Wi-Fi connection.

The console is powered by a quad-core Amlogic S905X4 processor, which can decode and broadcast images in maximum resolution up to 8K. In practice, Full HD and Ultra HD 4K frame formats are more in demand. At the same time, the model has received support for the AV1 video codec at the hardware level, which allows us to count on high-quality streaming.

The Android TV Box X96 X4 provides support for Miracast and AirPlay technologies for wireless content transmission from connected mobile devices. The TV box can receive IPTV broadcasts, be used for surfing the expanses of the World Wide Web, or as a standalone media player - the model recognizes video and audio files from microSD and USB drives.

Previous generations of Google Chromecasts did not have their own smart shell and were a kind of hub for connecting a smartphone to a TV. Everything changed with the announcement of the Chromecast with Google TV dongle - a completely independent media player with advanced functionality.

As you can easily guess from the model name, the set-top box uses the Google TV platform. This is a launcher based on the Android 10 operating system, the main space of which is allocated to recommended content from installed services. Software for the device can be downloaded from the Play Market brand store or third-party sources, but the user cannot do without “dancing with a tambourine” in installing apk files. The dongle “sees” them through a USB hub or some specific applications that still need to be found in the store. The device has only 8 GB of memory.

The "whistle" is connected to the TV via an HDMI connector. Power is supplied to it from the USB C port. The model communicates with the World Wide Web exclusively via Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz). High-quality components allow the set-top box to play videos with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels at a frequency of up to 60 fps. The device also claims to support common HDR specifications and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound.

The dongle comes with a miniature remote control with a five-position "pad", separate buttons for calling the Google Assistant voice assistant, launching YouTube and Netflix clients. The remote "controls" both the media player itself and the TV itself. The smart player boasts a fast and convenient menu interface, support for the main licensed streaming services, acceptable performance and ultra-compact dimensions, making it invisible against the background of the TV.

In the segment of "smart" TV boxes, products from the Xiaomi brand are always at the peak of popularity. For a very long time, this was the Xiaomi Mi Box S model, but in 2023, it was replaced by the second edition of the smart set-top box.

The Mi Box S 2nd Gen modification is virtually indistinguishable from its predecessor in appearance — it is assembled in the same compact case measuring 95x95x17 mm and has absolutely the same connection interfaces (one USB, HDMI, audio output, power connector). What is new in the second version of the set-top box is a more powerful Amlogic S905X4 processor (with Cortex-A55 cores), Bluetooth (up to v 5.2) and HDMI (up to v 2.1) specifications have grown. From now on , the TV box has support for Dolby Audio and DTS-HD audio, as well as Dolby Vision and HDR10+ video (in resolutions up to 4K at 60 fps).

The media player menu is based on the Google TV system, which provides flexible recommendations for viewing content from all installed applications directly on the main screen. However, in terms of menu customization, Google TV is inferior to the usual Android. An integral attribute of the model is support for the Google Assistant voice assistant.

The player comes with pre-installed streaming services YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Xiaomi TV+. Moreover, each of these applications is called up by a separate button on the remote control. The model has frankly little memory (only 8 GB), and 2 GB of RAM is provided here. Nevertheless, the media player works quickly and almost without lags. In addition, the model is capable of playing media files from USB drives and duplicating the picture from paired mobile devices on the TV screen (using Miracast, Google Cast and DLNA technologies).

Vontar network media players stand out from the faceless mass of similar peers with their bright and memorable design. The X4 model is no exception to the rule - its upper panel is designed in an interesting black and brown color palette.

The device runs on a full-fledged Android 11 OS with pre-installed ROOT rights. You can install absolutely any applications on the set-top box from the Google Play Market store or from a USB flash drive. For this purpose, a built-in 32 GB storage device is provided on board. The media player's performance is provided by a bundle of a quad-core Amlogic S905X4 processor and 4 GB of RAM.

Vontar X4 connects to the global network via Wi-Fi or a gigabit Ethernet port. The set-top box provides streaming broadcasts in frame resolutions up to 8K (7680x4320 at 24 fps), but the main formats for it are still Full HD and 4K. The media player allows you to set up viewing IPTV, movies and TV series from popular online cinemas, content from USB storage devices or microSD drives. The only “but” is that due to the lack of licensing, video from Netflix is played in the maximum frame resolution of HD.

The interface shelf of the model has one HDMI, a couple of full-size USB (versions 2.0 and 3.0), a built-in card reader, wireless adapters Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth v 4.0. The TV set-top box also supports displaying HDR content. The media player is supplied with a traditional push-button remote control, and an optional air remote control with a gyroscope can be purchased for it.

The Apple TV 4K 2022 media console will serve as an excellent addition to any 4K TV. And it can be recommended to owners of "apple" devices, because the device is fully adapted for use in the Apple ecosystem.

The basic version of the 2022 media player connects to the Internet only via Wi-Fi and has an internal storage of 64 GB. At the same time, the older modification of the set-top box is additionally equipped with an Ethernet port and carries 128 GB of memory on board. At the helm of the model is a powerful six-core Apple A15 Bionic chipset - the same processor is installed in the iPhone 14.

Playback of videos using a TV set-top box is possible in resolution up to 4K, while stream output in HDR10+ and Dolby Vision is supported. The software platform for Apple TV 4K 2022 is the proprietary tvOS operating system with the App Store application store and convenient voice control via the Siri virtual assistant.

Thanks to the transition to a passive cooling system, the media console has significantly lost weight - 208 g versus 425 g for the previous generation. The powerful Power VR GX graphics subsystem deserves special mention in the model, providing serious gaming potential when connecting a proprietary controller or joysticks from PlayStation 4 or Microsoft Xbox One to the console. In the end, the TV console will definitely appeal to fans of Apple technology.